Press Release: “The Challenge of Commemoration and Holocaust Education”
On April 12th and 13th 2016, forumZFD’s Kosovo Peace Education program in cooperation with a Holocaust Education expert from Yad Vashem (Israel) and the Kosovar History Teacher Association organized a workshop on “The Challenge of Commemoration and Holocaust Education” at the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.
Organized by forumZFD Kosovo, Yad Vashem’s Holocaust Education expert Dr. Chava Baruch had been invited and explained the specific characteristics of the Holocaust, the development of Holocaust research and introduced a variety of methods for teaching the Holocaust at different ages. Twenty-five history teachers, students and officials of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology participated in the workshop and analyzed the state of history curricula and holocaust education in Kosovo.
Holocaust education is a part of peace education, as the holocaust is not only a horrific historical event of extreme magnitude and consequences, but also as it serves as a case study for how anti-Semitism, antiziganism, racism, prejudices, stereotyping, nationalism and self-victimization can lead to a catastrophe. Especially in Kosovo and the Western Balkans, these phenomena are current issues of political and public discourses.
As this event was the beginning of a longer cooperation between the History Teacher Association of Kosovo and Yad Vashem, the workshop ended on the identification of future steps to be taken in the process of improving holocaust education, history lessons and school textbooks in Kosovo.
The workshop revealed that:
1. Kosovo textbooks contain historical incorrect information about the Holocaust and do not include any sources.
2. In order to fulfill the Kosovo Education’s Framework Curricula’s demand for skill-based education, teachers need training in current pedagogical methods
On Thursday 21st April 2016 KTV will publish a short TV report during the morning broadcast.
For further information please contact: Vincent Lungwitz
Project Manager, Forum Civil Peace Service (forumZFD)
Str. Sejdi Kryeziu, No. 8 | 10000 Prishtina | Kosovo
Phone: +381 38 749 065
lungwitz@forumzfd.de
www.forumZFD.de
